A method, approach, framework or whatever is likely a ‘professional’ tool if two skilled people, given the same problem, would pick the same tool, seek the same information, process that information in the same way, and come out with something like the same answer.

DCF analysis, for example, is likely to be used in the same way and produce rather similar results if two good finance professionals were to appraise the same new project. We’d never get 100% matching for most cases, because of nuances of interpretation, but those small differences would be quite clear as well.

So what strategy tools, I wonder, come close to that definition of being ‘professional’? Any thoughts?